The mere mention of this series name is likely to bring a very large smile to the faces of British sitcom fans, for The Good Life is one of the few series that is considered a true classic.

Created by veteran comedy writers John Esmonde and Bob Larbey - who also created such comedies as Please Sir! and Ever Decreasing Circles - the series starred Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith.

The idea for The Good Life came from two places - the first from Jimmy Gilbert who had been promoted to the Head of Comedy at the BBC in the early 1970's and wanted to find a vehicle for Richard Briers. The second from Esmonde and Larbey who, while taking a short break from writing one day, had started talking about middle age. It was through this conversation that the idea for The Good Life hit them. Both writers were approaching 40 and they wondered if this age marked a crossroads in life. It was from here that they came up with the idea of the story of a man who turns 40, was doing a job he hated, and felt terribly unfulfilled and decides to pack it all in for a new life.

Excited by this idea, they sat about and thought what sort of new life would the character want for himself? The two mulled over several ideas until one of them suggested self-sufficiency. No sooner had the idea been mentioned, John and Bob knew they had something great in the making.

With the basis of the series at hand, the two writers approached Jimmy Gilbert at the BBC who immediately realized the series would have great potential and gave the go-ahead for the show. Initially, John and Bob thought Gilbert hated the idea, but as it would turn out, he actually loved it.

"They had this idea about two people living in the suburbs, with the man wanting to give up the rat race and return to his roots. At first I was a bit concerned, as BBC-2 had already done a show along those lines. But when John and Bob explained their idea further and said the couple would be staying in town, I said it sounded promising and asked them to put it in writing"
-Jimmy Gilbert

Once they had got the go-ahead from Jimmy Gilbert, Esmonde and Larbey knew that the key element to the show would lie in the form of the characters. On behalf of the two writers, Jimmy Gilbert decided to approach Richard Briers to see if he liked the series idea. Luckily he did, but he asked to see some scripts before he would fully commit. With Briers now on board, Gilbert commissioned the two writers to produce a pilot episode and a backup one that could be used later in the series.

Esmonde and Larbey put pen to paper and came up with two great scripts. The scripts met with Gilbert's approval and he then approached the Controller of BBC-1, who gave the go-ahead for the series.

On reaching one of life's milestones, Tom Good (Richard Briers) is brave enough to take stock of his life and actually do something to change it. While they say life begins at 40, for Tom it does. It's been eight years since he joined JJM Limited as a draughtsman on the same day as his friend Jerry Leadbetter. But, while Jerry's career is flourishing, Tom's lack of ambition and ever-increasing dissatisfaction with his life has relegated him to an unrewarding career in middle management. Tired of commuting each day, earning a meagre salary, and doing a job he totally dislikes, Tom decides to pack it all in and attempts a life of self-sufficiency in suburban Surbiton. Although his loyal wife Barbara supports his decision to give up a secure job and risk all, Tom rarely considers her feelings in his struggle to make a success of his new life style. Even if courage, joviality and determination are his strengths, obstinacy and chauvinism, combined with a part of him that has never grown up, are among his weaknesses.

Barbara is unwavering in her devotion to her husband. While she willingly gave up her comfortable lifestyle of holidays and dining out, she stands by Tom and gives him practical support in his fight to become self-sufficient.

In Tom and Barbara Good, the writers had created a believable real life couple. The characters, as well as all four principles, were all multi-dimensional. The Good's were warm, lively and very likeable. The viewers cared about them and sympathsized with their efforts and wanted them to succeed.

"When we were defining the characters, it was obvious that Tom and Barbara had to have certain in-built characteristics. For a start, they needed courage to do what they were doing, as well as mental toughness. Barbara had to be loyal and very much in love with Tom to go along with his kind of lunacy, because at the end of the day, she was doing it for him, not herself."
-Bob Larbey

Once the series two main characters were in place the writers developed the personas of the two next-door neighbours: Jerry and Margo Leadbetter.

Jerry is hard-working and does his best to help his wife Margo in the lifestyle she has become accustomed to. While Jerry enjoys the rewards of his labour, bubbling beneath the surface is a hankering for a less stressful life. Battling the traffic of the daily commute he almost envies his neighbours, the Goods and the bravery, determination and solidarity they show in their drive to buck the system and live off the land. But unlike Tom, Jerry doesn't have the kind of spouse who would agree to such an idea.

Margo is a kind-hearted snob who buys her clothes at up-market boutiques in London all the while complaining that her clothing allowance is too small. Thanks to her husband Jerry, Margo is able to live a life of luxury, while she stays at home and looks after the house. Apart from spending money, Margo is a 'leading light' in the local musical society, rides horses and belongs to a women's political society. Despite appearing to be outgoing and gregarious, Margo has an inability to understand jokes or to let her hair down. The Leadbetters had to be completely different to the Goods. It was definitely a Margo driven household and Jerry's behaviour was always about keeping his wife happy. Jerry had a bit of a neurotic edge to him, because of his job and responsibilities, and while he didn't completely approve of his neighbours lifestyle, part of him envied what they achieved. But, while Jerry was extremely successful in his job, Margo was definitely the kind of wife that suited him. Margo was socially adept, and quite willing to entertain 20 businessmen at short notice. She supported her husband in all that he did but she did have her pretentious and snobbish side. Margo would not be unknown to say she was too good for Surbiton.

When it came to deciding who would direct and produce The Good Life, Jimmy Gilbert felt the best person for the job would be aptly skilled John Howard Davies. Davies jumped at the chance to work on the series as he was looking forward to working with Richard Briers. With Briers having already been cast as Tom Good, it was up to Davies and his team to find the other three major characters.

One of Davies original choices to play Barbara Good and Jerry Leadbetter had been Hannah Gordon and Peter Bowles. When Gordon was asked to play Barbara she turned the role down because she felt the character was too close to one she had just finished playing on TV. And when Peter Bowles was approached to play Jerry, he decided to say no also as he didn't' want to be tied down to a series and preferred to take on a stage role he'd been offered instead.

Esmonde and Larbey suggested an actress they'd seen in a Benson & Hedges cigarettes TV commercial who they thought would be good for the part of Margo. While they had no idea who she was, it turned out that the actress they were interested in was Penelope Keith, who was appearing on stage in Alan Ayckbourn's play "The Norman Conquests". Jimmy Gilbert was excited by their choice as he had seen both Keith and Felicity Kendal a few weeks earlier in the play and thought both would be suitable.

In fact, John Howard Davies, who had attended school with Ayckbourn, was quick to acknowledge the playwrights influence on the eventual casting of The Good Life. All four lead actors were starring in Ayckbourn plays at that time, Paul Eddington in "Absurd Singular", a production that Briers had only just left. Davies saw similarities in the Ayckbourn created characters and those created by Esmonde and Larbey and decided to cast in kind.

Although the show was originally written as a vehicle for Richard Briers, and while he and his screen wife enjoyed the majority of the early episodes, the Leadbetters were so well defined and brilliantly played that they soon became stars in their own right. The character of Margo was only a peripheral figure in the early episodes, but when one episode ran short, the writers devised a filler scene showing her talking on the telephone. Penelope Keith quickly established herself as a formidable character.

"[Margo] became hugely popular as a character. It was always intended as a foursome, because you needed that. The Goods were perfectly funny on their own. [And] while we needed other strong characters, Margo just grew and grew."
-Bob Larbey

The British public became fascinated by Margo's intense snobbery, and many viewers tuned in to enjoy the characters chastisement of The Good's, Jerry or whichever hapless workman she was employing that week. Penelope Keith quickly established herself as a leading comedy actress and went on to take top billing in subsequent sitcoms. In fact, all the cast were rewarded further with their own starring vehicles when The Good Life eventually ended.

For all those involved, the production of The Good Life was a happy one, due largely to the efforts of John Howard Davies whose main duties as producer included overseeing the cast and crew. He ensured that the show was peaceful and enjoyable to work on and that everyone involved on it fostered that atmosphere. Tempers or large egos weren't accepted. Working alongside Davies was Brian Jones who served as his assistant.

Most BBC series of the time still maintained a large proportion of their filming to the studio. However, The Good Life was allotted a large amount of outside broadcast.

BBC graphic designer Oliver Elms designed the series opening credits. It was Elms who came up with the simple yet effective titles of a white bird flying around a yellow sun that turns into a flower with a bee buzzing across the screen. Janet Pimlott, based on original sketches by Elms, drew the animated sequence.

Burt Rhodes whose simple composition was chosen from over 50 other submitted themes wrote the theme to The Good Life. The theme featured Rhodes on piano with 7 other musicians and was recorded at the Lime Grove music studios.

Rita Reekie did costume design for the series for seasons 1 and 2 while Sally Neiper handled seasons 3 and 4. To help create the costumes for the series, Rita chose to reflect the back-to-earth look with simple shirts, sweaters, jeans, etc. While she chose a more tailored business and glamorous look for Jerry, and especially Margo.

One amusing aspect of the series production was when it came to location filming, a collection of animals had to be brought in each day. These included two pigs, a cockerel, a goat, chickens, hens and others.

When the first episode was transmitted on April 4, 1975, Esmonde and Larbey were very pleased with the results.

"I thought they were ever so good. We had good actors and a terrific director, a very professional team. It was a nice feeling going to work..."
-John Esmonde

The BBC conducted an audience survey, where a viewing panel completed questionnaires about the show. The panel's response to "Plough Your Own Furrow" overall was quite positive, although several viewers wondered if based on this sole episode the series had any potential. While his must have proved worrying for the show's producers, it would be short-lived as subsequent surveys were much more positive and praising.

The yearly average audience figures for The Good Life were:

Series 1 ----- 07.5 million
Series 2 ----- 10.5 million
Series 3 ----- 15.7 million
Series 4 ----- 13.0 million

The series was extremely popular with television audiences while it was on the air. Combined with excellent scripts, an extremely original idea, a first rate cast and a network that showed great commitment to the series, it made a series that remains popular to this day. It was a series that appealed to all walks of life and featured characters that viewers could identify with. John Esmonde felt that one of the series plusses was unlike many shows of today, where they are expected to be automatic hits; the BBC gave the show a chance to build an audience.

The series came to an end on May 2, 1977 with "Anniversary", the final episode of the fourth series. Bringing the final curtain down was the joint decision of Esmonde and Larbey who felt that they had said all that could be said of the characters and wanted to quit while the series was still at the top.

While the series had done extremely well during its run, the viewers were quite sad to learn of its demise.

In addition to the public's disappointment, when the BBC were informed of Bob and John's decision, their response was one of disbelief.

"They [the BBC] would have willingly gone for more, but I think everybody knew deep down that the time was right. It was best to get out on top, which we did."
-Bob Larbey

A total of 30 episodes - which includes 2 specials - were made over 4 seasons from April 4, 1975 to May 22, 1977. However there was one last hurrah when on June 10, 1978, "When I'm 65", featuring the entire original cast, was screened as part of the Royal Command Performance.

The Good Life is a prime example of British situation comedy at its best. The humour is inoffensive, unthreatening and warming and combined with a wealth of good storylines. It was the interplay between the two couples that gave the show its lasting appeal.